HEALING: the power of Medicinal Cannabis

HEALING: the power of Medicinal Cannabis

For years I struggled with chronic headaches that caused sleepless nights, depression and hormone imbalances due to anxiety and stress caused by my job and a difficult family situation. Therapy, acupuncture, holistic, over-the-counter and prescription medications all helped control the pain and side effects but I was convinced there wasn’t a cure. I accepted that they were a part of my life.
While on a vacation to one of those “high states,” my husband begged and pleaded with me to try marijuana-infused edibles. “No, no, no, no, no, no!” I adamantly resisted.
After growing up in a liberal town where pot was pretty accessible (even in the ’80s & ’90s) and going to college where pot was the only illegal drug to which I was ever exposed, I took great pride in my “pot-free” status (even my parents claimed they had never tried it) and intended to keep it that way.
That was until later that afternoon when the stress of travel, the altitude and the heat had coalesced into a debilitating headache. Headaches disrupting otherwise terrific experiences had become the rule, not the exception and I didn’t want to let it ruin this day too. So, with tears in my eyes, I asked my husband to take me to a dispensary -- I was willing to give it a try. He nearly cried, he was so relieved.
My eyes were opened to an unexpected sight. Instead of a dark, smoked-filled room, the dispensary was clean, bright and organized. Nervously my husband told the well-dressed young man behind the counter about my anxiety-induced headaches and my trepidation of trying edibles. He was witty and kind, recommended the lowest dose edibles they offered (10 mg) and suggested that I start with just half (5 mg). But that was only the first step.
It took nearly an hour for me to find the courage to actually eat the candy. Within 15 minutes my headache was gone—not dulled, not tolerable—GONE. Even better, I wasn’t acting like a wasted stoner as I had anticipated. I was a pain-free, functional adult. There was still one minor problem: I had to apologize to my husband for being so stubborn.
More than a year later I still have headaches, but I manage them much better. They don’t interfere with my daily activities the way they had in the past. At the first sign, I eat half of a Gummy candy and within 15 minutes the pain is gone. More importantly, I can control the headaches early on and keep them at bay for days, even weeks at a time.
(By the way, I even told my parents).